The garden can be watered, with a hose, from the top. Holes in the plastic will allow the water to filter through.

The movement toward vertical gardening is dual. Two different groups of people are practicing it in two fundamentally different ways. Despite this duality, it remains one movement because the forces that drive both groups are the same.

And just what is compelling gardeners across the continent to grow up instead of out?

Space. Or more accurately, the lack of it.

Rising fuel prices have spawned a movement back into the city centers which are now more crowded than ever before. Rising energy prices are pushing the population into smaller dwellings. In the U.S., aging baby boomers are downsizing into condos and smaller, more manageable homes.

Many of us do not have--or want--a patch of ground to call our own but we still need green spaces. We each need a cooling, soul-soothing sanctuary where we can escape from the man-made. A place where we can commune with nature, grow our own food or just express our artistic side.

In other words, we need plants. We need them not only to feed us, but to delight us with their various textures, colors and scents and to clean our air.

In years past, would-be gardeners who lacked space were restricted to planting up a few pots small enough to fit on a windowsill or onto a tiny patio. Today, the availability of vertical gardening supplies has made the sky their limit.

The Garden and Patio Landscaping Wall as Art

This arm of the movement was started primarily by the world-renowned botanist and artist, Patrick Blanc. Patrick has been commissioned to design wallscapes (like the one in the image above) to decorate the exteriors of museums, malls, and private homes in many of the world's major cities.

This side of the movement surrounds the work of botanical artists like Blanc which make art more accessible to the public while greening urban areas at the same time.

If you would like to see more of Patrick Blanc's designs, his book: The Vertical Garden is available through the Amazon widget below at a huge discount to its normal retail price.

Green Wall Books &
Supplies

Vertical Vegetable Gardening

This is the larger movement. As food prices rise and food insecurity increases, people look to grow their own produce using whatever scrap of available space they have.

Vertical wall gardens, planters and boxes fill this need. A vertical herb garden can be tucked into the tiniest of spaces. Something as cheap and simple as a shoe organizer could be pressed into service as herb plants do not require much root space.

Most vegetables, on the other hand, need a 10-16 inch depth of soil to produce a good crop.